“Brian, we don’t do that in our house.”
Not what you want to hear as the youth pastor trying to set an example. But I didn’t know…really.
I arrived to check on some of the guys spending the night for the weekend. As was our custom, I started rough housing in the living room when I noticed that no one piled on. Actually, most were looking at me like I had committed a crime.
With authority, the Lady of the House enters with the rule I hadn’t heard and had unintentionally broken: No rough housing in the living room. If you want to wrestle, take it outside.
She had a house rule. I broke it.
From teams to corporations to families, every organized group of people has rules that help them know how they are to relate to one another. Some groups have lots of rules. Others have very few. Even those that have “no rules” have that one. Rules that govern groups are inescapable.
In the New Testament, Paul writes a letter to Timothy for a specific purpose:
“I am writing these things to you so that…you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God…”
Paul writes so that we would know that the Church is God’s family. And, like any family, God has some house rules for his kids to follow.
This has been like trying to herd cats for Timothy. False teachers are aggressively causing trouble. Cultural influences are destroying the family. House rules are being broken. So, Paul writes to deal with some issues:
Who’s in God’s family?
What does God’s family do?
Who leads God’s family?
How does God’s family take care of its own?
How do members of God’s family handle money?
How does God’s family grow?
Our hope with “House Rules: A Study of 1 Timothy” is that we would learn what it means for Exodus to be God’s family. If you’ve never been part of a church before or if you’ve been part of God’s family for a long time, you’ll learn something fresh and new. Join us.
Related Posts
Teaching Plan
1 Timothy 3:14-16/1:1-2 – It’s God’s house
1 Timothy 1:3-11 – No rough housing
1 Timothy 1:12-20 – Anything can be fixed
1 Timothy 2:1-7 – Everyone pray for everyone
1 Timothy 2:8-15 – Be counter cultural women
1 Timothy 3:1-7 – Elders: Who are they?
1 Timothy 3:1-7 – Elders: What do they do?
1 Timothy 3:8-13 – Deacons: Who are they?
1 Timothy 3:8-13 – Deacons: What do they do?
1 Timothy 4:1-5 – Enjoy what God has made
1 Timothy 4:6-10 – Grace is opposed to earning not effort
1 Timothy 4:11-16 – Growth will be seen
1 Timothy 5:1-16 – Honor one another
1 Timothy 5:17-25 – Honor leaders
1 Timothy 6:1-2 – Money: work hard
1 Timothy 6:3-10 – Money: be content
1 Timothy 6:11-17 Money: pursue real things
1 Timothy 6:18-29 Money: Be generous
1 Timothy 6:20-21 – Protect this house